A total of 11 true freshmen saw their way onto the field for Ohio State in the Buckeyes' 49-20 road loss to unranked Purdue Saturday night.
Though none of the freshmen recorded stats that wound up in the box score, tight end Jeremy Ruckert saw playing time in the fourth quarter, recording seven offensive snaps along with his duties on the kickoff team for all eight Purdue returns.
On the other side of the ball, defensive end Tyreke Smith (6 snaps), defensive tackle Tommy Togiai (3), defensive end Tyler Friday (1) and safety Josh Proctor (1) all saw action. While Smith is listed as a defensive end, he lined up at tackle for five of his six plays. He joined ends Chase Young and Jonathon Cooper in the “Rushmen” package.
Friday, Proctor, and seven other freshmen, including safety Marcus Hooker, who saw action for the second game in two weeks, earned special teams snaps for the Buckeyes.
In all, 21 freshmen have seen playing time this season, with nine – Friday, Dallas Gant, Teradja Mitchell, Chris Olave, K'Vaughan Pope, Ruckert, Smith, Teague, and Togiai – ineligible for redshirts as they've appeared in more than four games.
| NAME | POS | DEBUT | PURDUE STATS | GP | SEASON STATS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KAMRYN BABB | WR | ||||
| MATTHEW BALDWIN | QB | ||||
| SEVYN BANKS | DB | ||||
| TYLER FRIDAY | DE | Oregon State | 1 snap at DL, ST snaps | 7 | 3 tackles, 1 sack, 1TFL |
| DALLAS GANT | LB | Oregon State | ST snaps | 8 | 5 tackles |
| JAELEN GILL | HB | Rutgers | 2 | 1 catch for 11 yards | |
| MARCUS HOOKER | DB | Minnesota | ST snaps | 2 | 1 tackle |
| JAVONTAE JEAN-BAPTISTE | DE | Oregon State | 2 | ||
| ANTWUAN JACKSON | DT | Oregon State | 4 | 1 tackle | |
| TYREKE JOHNSON | CB | Penn State | 3 | ||
| MATTHEW JONES | OL | ||||
| TERADJA MITCHELL | LB | Oregon State | ST snaps | 6 | |
| CHRIS OLAVE | WR | Oregon State | ST snaps | 8 | 2 catches for 19 yards, 1 tackle |
| NICHOLAS PETIT-FRERE | OL | Oregon State | 3 | ||
| K'VAUGHAN POPE | LB | Oregon State | ST snaps | 8 | |
| JOSH PROCTOR | S | Oregon State | 1 snap at S, ST snaps | 5 | |
| JEREMY RUCKERT | TE | Oregon State | 7 snaps at TE, ST snaps | 7 | 1 catch, 13 yards |
| L'CHRISTIAN "BLUE" SMITH | WR | Tulane | 1 | ||
| TYREKE SMITH | DE | Oregon State | 6 snaps at DL | 8 | 5 tackles |
| BRIAN SNEAD | RB | Oregon State | 2 | 11 rushes, 37 yards, 1 TD | |
| MASTER TEAGUE III | RB | Oregon State | ST snaps | 5 | 17 rushes, 106 yards, 1 TD |
| TOMMY TOGIAI | DT | Oregon State | 3 snaps at DT | 7 | 6 tackles |
| TARON VINCENT | DT | Oregon State | 5 | 2 tackles | |
| ALEX WILLIAMS | DE | Oregon State | 2 | ||
| MAX WRAY | OL |
